The great men of a nation reach out to all mankind. They are unifying, not divisive; internationally conciliating and still great nationally.

To contrast national solidarity and international cooperation as two opposites seems foolish to me.

Just as the child is father to the man, so the impressions of one's youth remain the most vivid in manhood.

I must begin by saying something about the old Germany. That Germany, too, suffered from superficial judgment, because appearances and reality were not always kept apart in people's minds.

As a result of the World War, this old Germany collapsed. It collapsed in its constitution, in its social order, in its economic structure. Its thinking and feeling changed.

The courtesy which most becomes a victor was denied to Germany for a long time.

Historians still often see the end of the war as meaning nothing more for Germany than lost territories, lost participation in colonization, and lost assets for the state and individuals. They frequently overlook the most serious loss that Germany suffered.